Family & Parent-Teen Mediation
What is Family & Parent-Teen Mediation?
It may be wise to have a third person present to facilitate difficult conversations, someone who is not involved in your family and who can ensure that the conversation remains safe and positive.
What happens in Family Mediation?
Mediation not only solves the specific challenges your family is presently facing, but helps your family learn communication and problem-solving tools to work together (instead of against one another) when solving problems in the future.
Benefits for Your Family
Families often come to mediation because they feel stuck – unable to positively discuss concerns and resolve conflicts. They look to the mediator to keep dialogue productive and moving positively towards a mutually agreeable outcome. “Finally, we agree!”
The mediator ensures:
- everyone has an equal chance to express their ideas/feelings about the topic being explored
- everyone listens without interrupting and the conversation stays productive (and doesn’t turn into an argument)
- your family finds solutions everyone agrees with (nothing is decided until everyone agrees)
- your family learns and practices communication and problem-solving skills to resolve future conflicts on your own
Is Mediation the same as Counselling?
Unlike many forms of therapy, mediation is short-term and solution-oriented. It looks at the past to understand the present situation and what is needed so that it can be improved. Mediation asks:
- “What isn’t working?”
- “What got us here?”
- How can we make it work better?”
Family mediation also provides information and tools for improved communication and problem-solving in the future and the opportunity to practice them with a facilitator present.
Can mediation be done in addition to counselling?
Yes. Mediation can be done at the same time as individual counselling. The counselling can help one or more family members to be better able to understand and express themselves and so to more positively participate in mediation. The same is true for couples counselling for parents when family mediation includes your children and/or teens.
How old does a child need to be to participate in Family Mediation?
As long as your child understands the idea of creating and keeping agreements, mediation can be a powerful tool for change (especially if not following through on commitments is an issue).
It may be that some topics involve younger children, while others will involve the older children or just parents, but participation can help mediation feel family-wide (and not just about a specific “problem” child).
Examples of topics for younger children include “privacy” (e.g. knocking on doors before entering a sibling’s room), “getting permission” before borrowing things, or “home contributions” (i.e. chores).
“Mediation helped us through a very difficult time and recently we have been doing quite well. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to Keiron for his patience, expertise and his relaxed and friendly manner.” (partner) Keiron has made our family relationships work now. He has given me, as a parent, the tools to handle my children successfully and life is just great at home. Thanks a ton. (parent)
“Thank-you so much for helping my family through our hard times. You changed our family in a tremendous and positive way. Thank-you so much.” (teen, 17)
“Keiron is like some kind of Superhero driving from home to home helping families.” (teen, 16)
Resources for Families
Check out our wide range of resources to help you resolve conflict and improve relationships in your family, workplace, or community.